The past several months have included numerous "oh no way!" moments for local outfit the Colourist. The first bit of excitement, shares vocalist and guitarist Adam Castilla, came from their booking agent in October.

"He said he had good news for us but wouldn't tell us what it was until we were all together," he recalls. "Once we were all in one room, he said that we had been invited to play Coachella this year – and we were all pretty shocked. We were in the process of tracking and writing our new album, so it was such a big surprise, but obviously a really cool one."

Castilla, who hails from O.C., has been to the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival several times, so he's prepared to handle the heat this weekend and next at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. He plans on keeping himself and his bandmates plenty hydrated during their day-starting sets today and April 20 (11:55 a.m.-12:25 p.m.) in the Gobi tent.

But he says the hardest part about playing the twin events was managing to keep it a secret until the lineup was revealed by organizer Goldenvoice in January.

"We were so excited and that made it really hard," he adds. "We're getting to play with a lot of our favorite bands, artists that influenced us. We're all from Southern California and Coachella is the festival to go to here. There are so many bands I want to see, like New Order, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Phoenix – it's going to just be cool."

Debuting at the annual bash, however, wasn't the only situation the group had to stay hushed about late last year. The guy also had quietly inked a major-label deal with Universal Republic.

"That happened right after we found out about Coachella," he recalls, "and that was also really difficult to keep under wraps. We have a lot of support now and we've been working in some of the best studios with a great producer and the best mixing guy around. They have just put the tools in our hands and helped us make our vision."

The quartet, also including bassist Kollin Johannsen, keys player Justin Wagner and drummer Maya Tuttle, has spent the last five months writing and recording its first full-length effort, mostly at a home studio in Eagle Rock. They temporarily moved into a small vacation home in Los Angeles after experiencing near-breakdowns while battling the often horrific commute from O.C. to L.A. six days a week.

"Orange County is still very much our home base. We have our studio there and we practice there as well. But that drive," he says, "by the time we'd get to the studio we were over it."

The band has worked diligently Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. until about 10 p.m., providing fans with glimpses of its fuller sound via single "Little Games" and the poppy dance track "Yes Yes," which was made available for download via RollingStone.com on April 5.

After forming in late 2008, the Colourist spent a great deal of time crafting songs and tinkering in its rehearsal space before presenting material to the public. But the act quickly garnered loads of positive attention and in 2010 competed in the OC Music Awards' best live band showcase series. In 2011 they released a self-titled EP, although Castilla contends they've noticeably matured since then, thanks in part to focusing on new tunes with little distraction.

"I feel like I've said this a lot but I'm just excited about it," he continues. After they wrap work on the album, there will be shows with the Wombats and then a nationwide tour that finds them opening for Metric, Youngblood Hawke and Atlas Genius.

"We've always wanted to go to Canada and New York, and we're going to Texas for a few dates, so it's going to be awesome," Castilla reports. "We can't wait to play in front of crowds that have never seen us before. I think we're pretty much going to tour for the rest of the year, which is exactly what we've been preparing ourselves for."

There's no release date yet for the Universal Republic release, but Castilla predicts it will be out by mid-summer. For now, the group is enjoying each milestone as new ones roll in. Given its label support, the Colourist has been able to check off other things on its wish list, specifically creating new video clips and figuring out how to tour overseas.

"I want to do Europe and different parts of the world and just play for as many people as possible at this point," Castilla says, noting that not much seems out of reach right now. "One of the big fears about signing to a label was that they would try to change the style. But when we were going out to different meetings and being taken out to dinners, the one thing we looked for was people who believed in what we were already doing. We were so fortunate to find a label that believes in us."

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.